Walden and Civil Disobedience

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Overview

Disdainful of America’s booming commercialism and industrialism, Henry David Thoreau left Concord, Massachusetts, in 1845 to live in solitude in the woods near Walden Pond. Walden, the account of his stay, conveys at once a naturalist’s wonder at the commonplace and a Transcendentalist’s yearning for spiritual truth and self-reliance. But even as Thoreau disentangled himself from worldly matters, his musings were often disturbed by his social conscience. Civil Disobedience, also included in this volume, expresses his antislavery and antiwar sentiments, and has influenced non-violent resistance movements worldwide. Both give a rewarding insight into a free-minded, principled and idiosyncratic man.

Table of Contents

Suggestions for Further ReadingA Note on the TextsWaldenEconomyWhere I Lived, and What I Lived ForReadingSoundsSolitudeVisitorsThe Bean-FieldThe VillageThe PondsBaker FarmHigher LawsBrute NeighborsHouse-WarmingFormer Inhabitants; and Winter VisitorsWinter AnimalsThe Pond in WinterSpringConclusion“Civil Disobedience”Notes for WaldenNotes for “Civil Disobedience”